Little Did He Know
by Ainsdog50
Summary: After the events in the episode "Rose", Damon decides to tell Elena about his feelings, but then make her forget. Little does he know that she has been drinking vervain. RATED M for later content.  I DO NOT OWN THE VAMPIRE DIARIES
1. Chapter 1: I Just Have To Say It, Once

**Little did he know**

**A Vampire Diaries Fanfic**

**Set at the end of "Rose"**

**Pairings – Elena and Damon**

**Chapter 1 – I Have To Say It, Once**

Damon sat on Elena's window seat, thinking about how he had almost lost her, yet again. He didn't know what he would do if he lost her. Losing another person he loved would be so unbearable and this time he knew it would have all been real, not that his feelings for Katherine weren't real. But this time, even though she might try to hide it, burying it deep inside so that no one could see it, she did love him, perhaps not as he loved her, but it was there.

It was wrong and they both knew. For her to feel anything for him was just so wrong on so many levels; for Elena because it was betraying a man whose love meant everything to her and for Damon because inside he knew that he didn't deserve her love and never could. It was even wrong in other perspectives; there is not a single religion that does not condemn marriage to your brother's wife. Also, Damon really didn't want a repeat of Katherine, he didn't want to hurt his little brother again, when their relationship was only just repairing. He cared so much about Elena and didn't want to hurt her, but Nothing could of would ever come of it because he could never give her what she truly wanted. So he tried very hard to keep his feelings hidden, but it was hard, so hard.

In fact, the only thing that was really keeping all of those feelings bottled up, was fear. He was afraid of getting hurt again, and he had been hurt so many times before. He had been hurt by Katherine when she hadn't chosen either him or Stefan, and when he had thought she had died. Then again when he had discovered that the tomb was empty, that she had been alive and well, and never even thought of him. He had been hurt when she had at last chosen Stefan over him, not more than a few months ago. And on that very same and painful night, he had also been rejected by Elena, the fateful night when he had almost lost her friendship forever. All of these incidents had left him damaged almost beyond repair.

But, in just being with Elena, he saw a glimmering flash of hope. The friendship, which she had very generously offered him again, after all he had done, lit in him the humanity that he had worked so hard to erase. She made him a better... well when he was with her he could almost be called a person. She was his all, his forever. With her, it almost didn't matter that they weren't together, that she was his brother's girl. Just being friends with her was almost enough. Almost, but not quite.

Lately that friendship was becoming much more difficult. He had never told her his feelings. Well not when he was sober, anyway, and it didn't really count when he was drunk. That one time he had said it was all to do with Katherine, not Elena. But his feelings for Katherine were all over now. He only wanted Elena, now. He loved Elena, he needed Elena, and only her.

He just had to say it the once, those three little words with eight life-changing letters, that were always so hard for people to say. He needed to say them, even if she did already know, even if she didn't want to hear it, even if she could never return that feelings they expressed. He just needed to get them off his chest, just to tell her how he felt. Just the once. He fingered the vervain necklace gently and watched his finger burn. She wouldn't even have to remember it.

Elena walked into to her room and jumped slightly when Damon said, "Cute PJs!"

"I'm tired, Damon," Elena countered, and she turned away from him.

Damon held up her necklace, saying, "I brought you this."

"I thought that was gone," she gasped. He shook his head and she thanked him. But as she reached out to take it, he quickly pulled it out of her reach.

"Please give it back," she said, anger and just a little bit of fear creeping into her voice.

Damon took a deep breath and said, quickly, "I just have to say something."

She frowned and asked, "But why do you have to say it with my necklace?"

He looked her sadly and said slowly in a low voice that was almost a whisper, "Because what I'm about to say ... is probable the most selfish thing I've ever said in my life."

Elena gave a frustrated sigh. "Damon, don't go there."

"No, I just have to say it once. You just need to hear it." He paused and nodded, as if he was mentally telling himself that this was the right thing to do. "I love you, Elena, and it's because I love you that I can't be selfish with you, why you can't know this. I don't deserve you, but my brother does." He leant towards her and kissed her ever so softly on the forehead. Then he whispered, as he gently stroked her face, "God, I wish you didn't have to forget this, but you do." He looked deep into her eyes and compelled her to forget and as he did, as small tear ran down his cheek.

She blinked and as fast as lightning he put the necklace back around her neck and disappeared out of the window. When she opened her eyes, it was as though he had never been there, except for the necklace dangling from her neck.

Outside, he stood on the ground and watched her window. He had done told her and that was all he could ever do. He had needed to do it once and he had done the right thing in making her forget, for it was not his place to love something that would never and could never be his. He knew what he had done was write, yet he had never felt so sad. There was a pain deep within his chest and he knew this to be the cause of it. It was strange that, in all of the pain he had felt caused by Katherine, who he thought he had truly loved, he had never felt that kind of pain. With Katherine there had been a kind of emptiness in him, almost as though he had never had anything inside him. When he had become the bloodthirsty monster Elena had first met, all he had attempted to do was fill the void inside of him. Now, with Elena there was a kind of constant ache. It was always painful and never wavered in its intensity.

He turned away from the window and flitted off into the night.


	2. Chapter 2: Stabbed

**Little Did He Know**

**Chapter 2 – Stabbed**

Elena fingered the vervain necklace around her neck, then looking around the room with a vaguely confused look on her face, moved to sit on her bed. This was, of course, a big show as she remembered all of the things that had just happened, but she thought there was a chance that Damon was still watching her. She didn't know why, but it seemed extremely important that he shouldn't know that his compulsion didn't work.

She smiled, ever so slightly to herself. The only reason it didn't work was that she had just decided to start drinking vervain. Stefan had agreed with her and told her that he would find a different place to get his small supply of human blood. It had seemed safer to both of them, after the ease which Elijah had had in removing her necklace.

Slowly, she mulled over all of the things Damon had told her. She was quite happy that he hadn't even tried to take advantage of her; not that he would have been able to. Well not through compulsion anyway because she was sure that Damon would need only his strength to force her to do anything. She shuddered at this thought.

She was very glad to have seen the changes in Damon since she had first met him. He had been evil when he had come to Mystic Falls. He killed for sport and played sinister mind games for fun. He would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. After a while though, it wasn't that he wouldn't do anything to get what he wanted, anymore, it was just that what he wanted had changed. He was now, kinder and gentler. She knew that the changes in Damon had a lot to do with her, most would even say they were for her. Though he had become a much better person, he hadn't lost the dark and cynical flare, but that was one of the things that made him so charming.

Damon was nothing if not charming. He was also handsome and witty and, in his own weird way, understanding. He could understand people in a way that was impossible for most to see. He could explain away all of the bad things people did and the reasons they did them. He was a perfect example of how doing bad things doesn't necessarily make you bad, it is possible to just get lost somewhere along the way. It was almost easy to see why Damon had gotten lost for a hundred and forty-five years, with all of the horrible things that had happened to him.

Elena couldn't understand why she was thinking all of these wonderful thoughts about Damon. After all, it was easy to hate Damon, she really did sometimes. But giving Damon a second chance was exactly what he had needed and she could see that the second chance she and Stefan had given him had really brought him back from the mouth of hell.

Elena knew that deep down she really loved him, not that she would ever admit it to anyone, least of all him. She also knew, that for a very long time, even though she would deny it if she was ever asked, she had needed him to say it to her. Just to know that it wasn't her imagination, that he really could change. She had needed to know that, that she wasn't just wasting her time.

But then she saw Stefan's face clearly in her mind. She knew that every thought that had just passed through her mind was a direct betrayal of him and all the love he showered her in daily. He would do anything thing for her and she loved him dearly, with all of her heart. But she loved Damon too and tonight, she thought that after all of the pain he had lived through, that she should at least give him one night in her mind.

She knew that, just as she had needed to hear it from him, he needed and wanted her to say it too, but he would never expect her to. That alone, the fact that he was never going to ask anything of her, yet stay by her, protecting her, helping her and loving her from a distance, hit a chord in her heart. Another chord was struck when she realised that he would always love her, no matter what she did to him, forever. And for him, forever really was forever. He would give her the world if he could, and she knew that he loved her as much if not even more that Stefan. She almost heard the resounding clang as she saw clearly for the first time Damon stay even as his heart was ripped out and shredded before his, while he watched Stefan hold her, love her, have her.

She felt as though a knife had just been stabbed through her heart. Tonight, just for one night she would feel Damon's pain. She felt the knife wound her over and over again, as warm tears overflowed from her eyes and cascaded down her cheeks. She curled up on her bed and sobbed until, exhausted and emotionally spent, sleep finally overtook her.


	3. Chapter 3: It's A Lie

**Little Did He Know**

**Chapter 3 – It's A Lie**

Rose sat in one of the huge armchairs in the Salvatore Boarding House, tears rolling down her cheeks. Trevor had often been careless and foolish, but he had been her best friend for over five hundred years. She had done everything for him and he had meant the world to her. She could see his lifeless, headless body on the floor before her feet and she knew that it wouldn't have happened if she hadn't thoughtlessly contacted Elijah. She blamed herself for his death and probably always would.

"Alright, Rose-bud. I need some answers," said Damon, as he walked casually over to her. "Oh, please don't tell me you're crying because your buddy Trevor lost his head."

She sniffed. "Have you always been this sensitive?" she asked, wiping her eyes.

"There's a little vampire switch. You can phht, for this very reason," his voice lowered to a whisper, "Takes the emotion out of it."

Rose raised her eyebrows, at him, "Yeah. You switch yours, I'll switch mine."

"Was that a dig?"

"An observation. Being in love with your brother's girlfriend must be difficult."

"I'm not in love with anyone," he denied, totally unconvincingly.

"You want to try that, again."

He darted to her and cautioned in a low, quiet voice, "Don't get on my bad side."

"Then show me your good side."

xxx

Later that night, Damon sat in front of the fire, drinking bourbon from a crystal chalice. He heard Rose walking up behind him, but he didn't move. Even after all that had gone wrong that day he still couldn't help trusting her, or as close as Damon ever came to trusting.

"I'm sorry about today. I didn't know that was going to happen," she said, with clear sincerity written in her voice.

"I believe you," Damon answered.

"I wish we could save Elena. I know that you want to."

"And I will," he said darkly. He had to believe it was true, because if he didn't it would destroy him. There was a battle going on inside his head, for he knew he was trying to do the impossible and it was killing him. But none of this showed on his face. His scowl was a mirror image of his usual frown.

Rose gave a sort of half smile. "You remind me of Trevor."

His frown took on a sort of quizzical tone, as he asked with a slight shake of his head, "Why? Why him?"

Rose walked towards him slowly, saying, "Because he always talked big game. He was always working an angle. But underneath it all he was the best friend anyone could ever hope for."

"Hmm. And where did that get him?"

"Dead," she said quite plainly, of her friend of five hundred odd years. "And my loyalty to him almost got me dead, too."

Damon looked up at her and poured her another glass of alcohol. The vampire didn't smile as he proposed a toast to friendship and took a large swig of his drink.

Rose suddenly said, "You're right to fight it." Damon frowned at her. "The way you feel about her."

It looked as though he had just smelled something very unpleasant. "And why is that?"

"Because if we want to survive, we need to not care about anyone," she said, causing Damon's frown to deepen again.

"Caring gets you dead, huh?"

Rose sat, closing her eyes and shaking her head, "It may just be time to turn the switch off on your emotions."

Damon's eyes opened wide and then he thought for a moment, clearly considering the options. He turned around and raised his eyebrows and her, challenging her with, "I will if you will."

Rose set down her glass and he swallowed. They both flitted to each other in the centre of the room, pausing inches from the other, before Damon pulled her face to his. As soon as their lips touched, their hands wound around each other, pulling them closer. There was no emotion but raw lust and he just let it scratch any thoughts of Elena from his mind, their clothes were savagely ripped from the others body and strewn all over the floor and surrounding furniture. He pushed into her roughly and their hands pulled wildly at the other's body.

Then it was over. There was no cuddling. They just sat next to each other. Damon felt better for having done it, as this was a part of himself he had ignored since he had realised his feelings for Elena.

"It's a lie, you know," Rose whispered, "There's no switch you can turn off." Damon looked at her, as she continued, "Sure, when you're a newbie, but after a couple of hundred years, you just have to pretend."

Damon looked as if he was about to contradict her, but then he just nodded slowly.


	4. Chapter 4: To Live For

**Little Did He Know**

**Chapter 4 – To Live For**

Elena had been in the tomb with Katherine all day. All day, she had listened to the evil psychotic bitch who had tried to ruin her life, just for fun, and who had never told anything but lies and was wicked to the core. And yet, Elena could not help but believe every word she had said.

Elena was afraid; she had met Elijah, she had seen what he could do; how he could touch the vervain necklace for an extended period of time, how strong and fast he was, how he could walk in the sunlight. She also had a horrible feeling that his powers were nothing on Klaus'. "Klaus", the name she hardly even dared to think, as if even thinking the name would somehow make him know exactly where she was, that she even existed. Rose and her friend Trevor had spent almost five centuries running from Klaus and the other Originals, yet after all of that time they had been caught and Trevor had been beheaded. There was after all good reason to fear him, for those who challenged him quite often ended up dead. Yes, everyone was scared of him, even Katherine. Katherine, who was a strong and cunning vampire in her own right and was feared by many, herself, feared him.

She had heard what he had done to Katherine's family. She knew that if she tried to defy him in any way, he would do the same to hers. And it would be all her fault. She thought of Jeremy, who was still such a child in so many ways, and of Jenna, who knew nothing of any of these supernatural entities, but it wouldn't prevent her from dying of them. She thought of her friends and all they had done for her. No matter what she had asked Bonnie and Caroline had been there for her. Lastly, she thought of Stefan and Damon. She knew that even though Stefan and Damon feared him, too, they would stop at nothing to protect her. That very fact would lead to their demises. Katherine's family had been slaughtered when they themselves had done nothing to Klaus, she couldn't even imagine what he would do to those who had intentionally tried to hurt him. Nor did she wish to.

Elena had long ago begun to think that perhaps all of the people around her would be better off if Stefan had just let her die in that car crash because she was always the indirect cause of all of the bad things that had happened to her friends, since her parents had died. If she hadn't been there, the Salvatore brothers wouldn't be either and Damon wouldn't have turned Vicky. If Vicky hadn't been turned, then she wouldn't now be rotting six feet under and Jeremy would never have had to have his memory wiped. If she hadn't been there, Katherine would never have returned. After all, it was Katherine, who turned both Caroline and Tyler. If she hadn't been so selfish and stayed with Stefan even after being threatened by Katherine, Jenna would never have gotten hurt. Now her family and friends were in danger because of who and she was.

She stood on the veranda and stared out to the road. She heard Stefan behind her, but before he could say anything, she blurted out, "I wanted to know the truth, Stefan and I got it."

She felt the tears begin to fall as she continued, "It's not just me that's in danger; i-i-its Caroline and its Tyler and its Bonnie. They're all part of breaking the curse." She shook her head slightly as she spoke and her voice grew steadily more edgy and high-pitched. "I can't blame anyone else anymore, because it's not because you came to town or because you and I fell in love, that's not why everyone that I love is in danger. It's because of me, everything is because of me."

Stefan pulled her into his arms and wrapped his arms tight around her, pulling her close to him. She sobbed loudly into his shoulder, as he softly cooed soothing noises into her hair.

She saw their faces in her mind's eye and before she could stop herself she pictured them after Klaus had gotten to them, their faces and bodies brutally mangled and almost unrecognisable. She pushed her face harder into his shoulder and tried to shake the images from her eyes, but they wouldn't budge.

The pain was so intense that her body shook with it. She realised that it came from the losses she knew were to come and the terrible guilt she felt for tat fact that she was the source, for she knew now that she was the one to blame for all of the bad things which had happened in Mystic Falls and she knew that she would be the cause of many of the future problems. She was the doppelganger. She was always going to bring danger to those around her, because Klaus would always hunt her. There was no escaping it, if she wasn't around, her friends would probably be happier in the long run and live much longer lives. There was nothing any of them could do to stop what would undoubtedly happen to her, but they would all die trying.

It was then and there that she decided that when her friends made their next insane attempt to save her life, and she knew they would, she would be ready. She would, for the first time in her life, do the right thing. She would save all of them because if they died, what else would she have to live for?


	5. Chapter 5: Pain and Love

**Little Did He Know**

**Chapter 5 – Pain and Love**

"_It's a lie, you know. There's no switch you can turn off."_ Those words echoed around and around his head, ringing in his ears. They were haunting him along with images of the girl he loved with all his heart, but could never have. Somehow the pictures were even worse than usual.

Damon groaned. He was lying on his bed staring intently at the ceiling, almost as if, if he looked at it long enough the images in his head would disappear. The longer he stared, though, the more pronounced they became. He groaned again and rolled onto his stomach.

It had been so much easier before Rose had said those words. Well not easier, just easier to pretend it was easy. It had always been hard, but now it was absolute torture. Before, he had almost been fooling himself into believing that just flicking that switch would make her disappear, he had even been telling himself that he didn't want her to go because she made him happy, he had been lying and saying that he liked all of the new feelings. It was all a big lie, though. The reason she was in his head all the time was not because he wanted her there, but because he couldn't get her out of it. As much as he loved her, seeing her completely happy without him was incredibly painful and seeing her happy with someone else was even more so. He hated of these feelings, so much so, that he would have given almost anything to just flick a switch and have them all disappear.

On the bedside table, beside him, was half a photo, with one jagged edge where the rest had been savagely ripped off. The photo had once been of Stefan and Elena, sitting on a picnic rug laughing. Now the photo showed Elena laughing alone. Damon didn't know what the joke was, but he had adored the photo as it showed Elena at her best. He reached over and cradled in both of his large hands, before taking one finger and delicately stroking her face. He felt another small tear escape his eye.

Suddenly, he scrunched the photo into a tiny ball and threw it at the wall. She had made him cry once too often. He loved her, but she would never give him what he wanted. She would only cause him pain and he needed to forget her. She had become his judge, jury and executioner. She would squeeze the life out of him until he had nothing left to give, and then she would continue constricting him. He had to laugh at himself, he had fallen in love again after all that Katherine had put him through and he had been caused yet more pain. There was nothing Elena could give him.

No, that was definitely not the truth. She had given him so much already. Although since he had come back to Mystic Falls he had been caused more pain than ever before, it had been some of the happiest times of his life, since he was a child. She made him happy. She gave him the warm fuzzy feeling inside that you read about in soppy romance books. She was the one light in his entire world of darkness and he cherished every moment that he spent with her. Her laugh, her smile, her beautiful eyes, her beauty in general, and the friendship she had given him all made him very happy, so happy that he, the cynical brooding Damon, wanted to jump for joy. He wanted to be there for her for all of eternity. He loved with all of him being, so much that it hurt. He was in love with his Elena.

Except that was the problem. She was not _his_ Elena. She was Stefan's Elena. She was his brother's Elena. She was his brother's love, his brother's whole bloody world. As always, when he thought about Stefan and Elena, he felt as though he had just been punched in the stomach by a seven hundred year old vampire.

There were times when he hated his brother. Stefan always got what Damon wanted. It wasn't as though he did it on purpose; we just tended to want the same things. Then there was the fact that Stefan was the "good brother". He had so much self control and discipline. He was just in general a better person. Everyone preferred Stefan to Damon and this was the reason why. Stefan was just better. This story seemed to be repeating over and over again, like a broken record; first with Katherine, now with Elena. Damon was always the second choice and it was killing him.

Yes, sometimes Damon hated Stefan, just for that fact alone. But Stefan was his brother and even after everything they had been through, after all of the fights, after all of the hardships, that fact was still true. Even if he didn't like him at times, Damon would always love his brother, because they truly were brothers.

As long as Stefan was his brother he could never have Elena. No matter how much it he loved her, how much it hurt not to have her, he would never fight for her. For, if he fought for her and lost it would certainly finish him off, but if he fought for her and won he would never be able to forgive himself. Every day after that, Stefan would feel the pain he felt and he knew that there was no way Stefan would survive. He had seen Stefan, after he had provoked Katherine into retaliation where she had forced Jenna to stab herself and Elena had broken up with him. He had been a wreck, sitting in one of the armchairs with tears streaming down his face. Only the fact that Elena had been in danger prompted him into action. There was definitely no way he would live through Elena being with someone else, especially not me.

Even with these nagging thoughts, he still wanted and needed her and, he knew that for her he would probably betray his brother. But, as long as she wanted Stefan, Damon would do nothing. Deep down, he wished that it was just the two of them, Elena and Damon, so that he could have a chance. He knew it would never happen but, just for the fun of it, he wished that Stefan had never come to Mystic Falls and sometimes he even wished that Stefan was out of the picture, altogether.


	6. Chapter 6: Mission

**Little Did He Know**

**Chapter 6 – Mission**

Elena sat on her bed thinking. She had given a lot of thought to how she was going to sacrifice herself for the lives of her loved ones. She would never be able to do it on her own. She needed help, from someone who was strong enough to be able to help her, but who didn't care about her enough to want to protect her from all dangers, and yet knew enough about Klaus to know how to find him. She needed someone like Rose. She smiled as a plan started to formulate in her head. So that when Stefan and Damon knocked on her door the next morning, her suicide mission was ready to go.

xxx

Rose was standing by the fireplace. Elena had just told her about her plan. "Bad idea," she said.

"No, it's not," Elena countered, "From what Stefan told me, your friend Slater obviously had more information about Klaus. You and Damon just gave up before you got it."

"Because somebody blew up a coffee shop with us in it," Rose quipped.

"There's more to learn, we just have to find a way to learn it."

"Why are you coming to me with this?" Rose exclaimed.

"Because you owe me; one word from me and Damon and Stefan could have killed you for kidnapping me."

"Or maybe it's because you know they wouldn't want you doing this... And their moonstone hunting gives you a chance to sneak away."

"We're having a disagreement, O.K.? They're willing to risk everyone that I love and I'm not."

"They're just trying to protect you," Rose said in a soft voice.

"And we've proven that you couldn't care less whether I'm protected or not," Elena argued, "So we're back to you taking me to Slater."

Rose sat down next to Elena on the couch and looking right into her eyes, asked, "What exactly do you hope to achieve by this?"

There was a pause. "How would you like to be able to walk in the daylight?" Elena asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I've been a slave to shadows for five hundred years. What do you think?"

"I think I know a witch who is willing to do whatever it takes to help, if you're willing to make a deal."

xxx

Alice frustrated Elena slightly, what with her wish to be turned into a vampire. It was not that Elena hated vampire, far from it, after all she was in love with two of them and one of her best friends was one. But Elena didn't understand how anyone would want that life, a life where you killed other people and were hunted and killed, if your own conscience didn't do it first.

Then again, Elena didn't intend to live long enough to find out what it was to be a vampire. That's why she was quite calm when she said the quiet words to Alice, "Tell him that we're trying to send a message to Klaus; the doppelganger is alive and she's ready to surrender."

Rose's mouth opened in horror and she exclaimed, "What?" just as Alice said, "Oh my God, I knew I recognised you."

Elena hardly acknowledged either the statement or the question, just telling Alice again to give the message, before walking away from the computer. Rose followed her out of the room, to find her leaning heavily on a table.

"What are you doing?" Rose asked in a quiet shocked voice.

"Getting Klaus' attention," came the reply.

Rose answered in a whisper, anger seeping into her voice. "If Klaus knows that you're alive, he will find you and he'll kill you."

Elena didn't answer, but her face retained its stubborn expression.

"Which is exactly what you wanted, all along," Rose continued, as the situation dawned on her.

"It's either me or my family."

"So this whole charade was some suicide mission, so that you could sacrifice yourself and save everyone else."

"Cody is on his way and he really wants to meet you," Alice interrupted.

xxx

Damon answered the phone in his usual sarcastic voice, "Not a good time, Rose."

"Don't be angry with me," Rose said in a small voice and he was immediately worried.

"Why? What did you do?"

"You need to get to Richmond, immediately."

"Tell me."


	7. Chapter 7: Rescue

**Little Did He Know**

**Chapter 7 - Rescue**

Fear and anger flooded Damon. _Why is Elena constantly getting herself into danger?_ He thought, as Rose told him everything.

"And she's offering her life to Klaus to save her family," Rose finished and Damon accidently crushed one of the bricks from the rubble wall he was leaning on. He ended the call without answering and ran as fast as he could back up to the house. Within a matter of minutes he was driving down the road.

The picture of Elena leapt before his eyes again. He shook his head to remove the image that had plagued his brain ever since he had met her, but it was only replaced with a far worse image; the image of her lying cold, dead and broken.

"Why do you keep doing this to me?" he whispered to himself, in a tortured voice as he drove to her rescue yet again.

xxx

Elena stared into the misted window of the Slater's apartment. She was contemplating what it would be like to die. She hoped her own death wouldn't be too painful, but then again, her pain didn't matter as long as of her loved ones were safe.

Suddenly, Elijah's smirking reflection appeared in the glass in front of her. She spun around fast, gasping in shock, but he was nowhere to be seen. She turned to face the window again and there was no reflection but her own. Perhaps she had imagined it, but in her world where magic and vampires existed, she seriously doubted it.

She pushed away from the window and went to get herself a glass of water. Even if she was going to die soon, she may as well die comfortable.

As she drank she looked up at Alice, who was standing by the curtains and looking at something behind Elena. Elena, now weary, turned around, and breathed heavily in surprise. Damon was standing before her, with an angry look on his pale face.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"What are you doing here?" she gulped.

She heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Rose coming around the corner. "You called him?" she asked accusingly.

"I'm sorry, Elena," she replied sincerely.

But Elena's answer was unforgiving, "You said that you understood."

"She lied," Damon interrupted.

"Damon Salvatore," Alice said, as she approached the tense conversation.

"Get rid of her," Damon ordered, with a look of disgust on his face.

Rose dragged Alice away from Damon and Elena who stood still, staring at each other. Damon broke the silence, "Come on. We're leaving."

"No." Elena's response was fast and decisive.

But Damon wasn't in the mood to argue. "I said we're leaving."

"I'm not going with you."

"You do not get to make decisions anymore."

"When have I ever made a decision?" Elena asked, rhetorically. "You and Stefan do that for me. Now this, this is my decision."

"Who's going to save your life while you're making decisions?" Damon asked, sarcastically.

"You're not listening to me, Damon. I don't want to be saved," she exclaimed, "Not if it means that Klaus is going to kill every single person that I love."

Damon's patience was all but gone. "Get your arse out that door, before I throw you over my shoulder and carry you out myself."

He grabbed her, forcefully and she spat, "No." She balled up her fist and went to punch him in the face. But he caught her hand and squeezed it slightly to demonstrate his strength, before leaning very close to her face and whispering, dangerously, "Don't ever do that again." He moved away from her and she closed her eyes in defeat.

xxx

"Alice is sleeping soundly and won't remember a moment of this horribly stupid day."

The door burst open to Elena and Rose sitting on the couch, with Damon standing in front of them. The three men advanced into the room, with the foremost of them saying, "We've come to meet the doppelganger."

Elena made to step forward, but Damon stopped her, saying under his breath, "I will break your arm."

"There's nothing here for you," Damon told the three intruders.

Abruptly, the vampire standing nearest the door was pulled off his feet by a hand that had gone straight through his chest, ripping out his heart. He fell to the floor, leaving Elijah standing alone in the doorway. He flittered to the other to the group of people standing in the centre of the room, looking around the faces, just as Rose fled.

"I killed you. You were dead," Damon said, frowning.

"For centuries now," Elijah answered, softly. "Who are you?" he asked, addressing one of the other vampires.

"Who are you?"

"I am Elijah."

The vampire looked suddenly scared and worried. He hurriedly explained himself, "We were going to bring her to you, for Klaus. She's the doppelganger. I don't know how she exists, but she does. Klaus would want to see her."

"Does anyone else know that you're here?"

"No."

"Well then, you have been incredibly helpful," Elijah said, with a small, wry smile.

Without warning, he pushed his hands into their chests and removed their hearts. Both men fell to the ground in a heap and Elijah dropped their hearts next to them.

Elena gasped in horror and Damon moved in front of Elena, protectively. Elijah just looked at them both for a moment, before flitting out of the room. Damon and Elena exchanged glances and Damon raised his eyebrows at her, turning again to face the door, but Elijah didn't return.


	8. Chapter 8: Wishes Do Come True

**Little Did He Know**

**Chapter 8 – Wishes Do Come True**

Damon had often wished for Stefan to be out of the picture, for him to have Elena to himself. Yet right now, standing outside Elena's door, Damon was absolutely terrified. He suddenly realised that just because his brother wasn't there he didn't automatically have Elena, even though that was how it happened in his dreams. But this wasn't one of his dreams and Elena's options had never just been the Salvatore brothers.

So Damon stood outside her door and waited. He didn't know what he was waiting for: a sign that he was allowed to come in, perhaps; or the courage to say what he had always wanted to say and let her remember it; or even to be invited in and have the three little words that he desperately longed to hear whispered into his ear by the woman he loved.

Damon took a deep breath and opened the door. Elena turned at the sound of the door closing behind him.

He greeted her saying, "You should really lock your door." His voice took on a tone of mock sincerity, "Oh, come on pouty, at least give me two points for ingenuity."

She frowned, "Do you think this is funny?"

"Yes, Elena, I find hilarity in the lengths I have to go to, to repeatedly save your life."

"What did Stefan say about this?"

"We had a good laugh," he said walking over to her, before sitting down next to her on the couch and casually putting his arm over her shoulders.

"I mean, what did he say about Elijah still being alive."

"Yeah, about that ... I didn't tell him."

"Why not?" she asked, quickly. He frowned at her; she always made it sound like he had some ulterior motive. The fact that he usually did was beside the point.

"Well, A; he can't do anything about it and, B; what I just said."

He turned to see Jeremy entering the room.

"Where's Bonny?" Damon asked suddenly.

"I thought she was meeting you," was Jeremy's answer.

"No, she's on moonstone duty and I'm on Elena patrol."

"And who's on Tyler Lockwood and the full moon?"

"Vampire Barbie asked me if she could help and I said why not. I figured she'd screwed up and he'd bite her and then I'd be rid of two of my problems."

"Hold on a second, tonight's the full moon," Elena asked just as Damon's phone rang.

Jeremy leaned over the arm of the couch and slid down the other side, until his head rested in his sister's lap. "No, it's tomorrow night," he answered.

Damon cut in, "Yep, but you were too absorbed in your suicidal tendencies to notice." And he answered the phone, walking away from the two of them.

Elena watched Damon talked briefly into the phone, before he hung up and said to Jeremy, "Change of plans, you babysit."

He looked over at Elena as he made his way to the door, "Hey you know, you should get out, enjoy the sun," he paused and then whispered, "Oh wait you can't." He smirked.

Elena pegged a pillow at him which he dodged easily and left laughing. On the other side of the door he let out a deep sigh, closing his eyes before he made his way to the Grill to meet Rick.

Jeremy was still lying across Elena's legs, laughing. Elena pushed his off her roughly and he hit the ground with a thump. He got up disgruntled and left his sister to go and get a drink from the kitchen. Elena could only stare after Damon, with a wistful look in her eyes.

She had been devastated when she had found out that Stefan was trapped in the tomb with Katherine, and yet even as she had run all the way to the tomb, been stopped by Damon and argued with him, and not even seen Stefan, she had felt a horrible sense of relief, as though a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

_-FLASHBACK-_

"_Thank you for bringing me home," Elena said in a strained voice. _

"_Well your ride left you and I didn't want to leave you stranded."_

"_She was just scared. She didn't mean to run," Elena emphasized in a soft voice._

"_Yes she did," Damon retorted, accusingly, "she's been running for five hundred years. _

"_I can't believe Elijah's alive. Why do you think he killed those two vampires and then just let us go?"_

"_If I had a dollar for every time some evil vampire surprised me."_

_Elena sighed softly before making to open the door, but Damon grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "What you did today was incredibly stupid."_

"_Actually, the only thing that was stupid was that I got caught," she snapped, ripping her arm from his grasp. "I don't question why you and Stefan and everyone else tries so hard to save me. You shouldn't question why I would try to save all of you. Damon goodnight, Ok." She turned to see her brother opening the front door. _

_They all stared at each other, Elena taking in the bloodstained bandage at Jeremy's neck. He said one word, but it chilled her to the bone, "Stefan."_

_xxx_

_She ran down the steps into the tomb two at a time and sprinted to the entrance. She paused, screaming out his name, but when no reply came she kept on running. _

_Damon pulled her pack and slammed her into a wall, pinning her hands in front of her. "Don't you dare," he threatened, darkly. _

"_Stefan's in there, Damon," she exclaimed, "How could you let this happen?"_

"_What are you talking about," he hissed, outraged, "I was too busy save you from you crazy kamikaze mission."_

"_You didn't even have to go after the moonstone in the first place."_

"_It was the right call, Elena."_

"_The right call?" she seethed, rhetorically."How is any of this the right call?" She began to struggle against his chest. "Damon, let go of me, Damon," she cried out. She continued to fight him until her voice fell to just above a whisper, and she begged, "Let go of me, please."_

_Their breathing came out in heavy pants. "You done," he asked, before he deftly lifted her up, kicking and struggling into his arms and carried her home again, though her struggling was now more protesting being carried than anything else._

_Even as he did so he felt another crack in his already broken heart. After everything they had been through together, after how much she had made him grow and how much he had changed, she still blamed him for everything that went wrong in her stupid little world. She did this because he was Damon, because he was horrible and mean and evil; and he would lie down and take it because he was Damon, because he loved her. _

_xxx_

_Stefan had listened to the fight from the depths of the tomb and to his great distress, they sounded like a bickering couple. He could hear the love and desperation in their strained voices, and even though it was probably his imagination, stress and fear won in his mind, planting the first seed of jealousy. _

_-END FLASHBACK-_

Elena knew the experience of having the love of her life trapped in a place no one would allow her to enter with his ex-girlfriend should be a thoroughly horrid incident, but she couldn't help but feel warm and safe in Damon's arms as he had carried her back up to her house even though she had struggled the whole way.

She had a lot of feelings that she needed to work out and Stefan's presence in her life had been somewhat constricting lately. She had needed space, but didn't have the heart to ask him to give her some. As dreadful as it was to say it, she had needed for something like this to happen and a small part of her had even wanted it. For her at that moment the tomb was the perfect place for Stefan to be.


	9. Chapter 9: You Just Need To Hear It

**Little Did He Know**

**Chapter 9 – You Just Need To Hear It**

**Warning to all of those under 15 – THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS A SEX SCENE **

**If you do not like sex scenes or are under age DO NOT READ**

Damon had left Rick in the Grill with what he was almost certain was another werewolf. He had no proof of course but it was better to be safe than sorry. He was sure that if she was going to be in town on the night of the full moon she would revisit the Grill. She was basically harmless in her human form and so Damon thought it was safe to leave her there with Rick to watch her, besides he had his damned ring to protect him. Damon had been restless all night, as he wanted to see Elena again. Even though he knew there was no way she would be doing her martyr act that night as she couldn't even leave her house, he was still afraid that something might happen to her. Then again, he was always afraid of that.

He stood outside her bedroom window, watching her shadows move around the room as she got ready for bed. He breathed a sigh of relief; for once he could tell that she was safe. He climbed up the tree swiftly and watched as she curled up in her bed. She reached over to her bedside table for her diary and then thought better of it.

Instead her hand moved smoothly under the covers of her bed until they settled inside her pants. She slowly began to rub her fingers up and down and she sighed softly. Damon's eyes were transfixed on her and as he watched her hands movements became faster and more forceful, until she was writhing under the sheets, her breath coming out in pants along with a series of moans.

When her release came one solitary word left her lips, "Damon." It was so soft that he could barely hear it, but he was sure that she had indeed said his name. He sat frozen on the branch, still watching her. She lay still for a few moments, before getting out of bed and walking into the bathroom. Damon heard Elena rummaging around the bathroom for something and then the sound of running water.

After washing her hands, Elena splashed water on her face. She leaned over the bench, her face in her hands. She hadn't done that for over two years and why had she said Damon. If she was going to do that it should be because she missed Stefan, after all he was in the tomb, but she had definitely said Damon. She sighed and dried her face with a towel, before going back to her room. She had climbed into bed and was reaching out to turn off the lamp, before she noticed that Damon was again sitting on the window seat.

She jumped. "Damon, don't do that." Damon didn't answer he just sat there staring at her. "Are you OK," she asked slowly. Suddenly, Damon looked up into her eyes and she was surprised to see a look of pain written across his face.

So fast that she barely registered what was happening until it was too late, Damon had grabbed her and pushed her down onto the bed, lying down on top of her. Before she could protest he pressed his lips hard against hers and she lost herself in that kiss.

Suddenly her hands were running up and down the length of Damon's body, untucking his shirt from his pants and feeling underneath it. When she did this Damon felt a shiver throughout his whole body. He was allowing her to take the reins a bit, so to speak. She needed to know that he wasn't controlling her. She raised her lips to his again and gave him the softest, sweetest kiss of his whole life. As she did so, her fingers, acting of their own accord moved to the buttons of his shirt and began to undo them one by one. When she was finished she rolled them over and spread her fingers out over his bare chest, pushing the sleeves off his arms.

Devilishly slowly, she moved her hands to the bottom of her blue-green top and ever so slowly pulled it off over her head. Without warning, Damon let out a growl in the back of his throat and flipped them again. He pressed his lips to hers once more and when she kissed him back, he moved his hand around her back and carefully undid her bra. He pulled away to see her reaction and she reached up and pulled the bra off her, letting it drop to the floor with both of their tops. Damon took a moment to take in the sight of her breasts, before dipping his head to one and putting it in his mouth. She moaned softly at the contact and he moved his hand up to play with the other.

Elena suddenly pushed him away, gently. He looked at her, a terrified expression on his face. "I remember," she whispered, before pushing his head back down.

But he pulled up again, "How?"

"I was drinking vervain." She kissed him again to stop any further questions. Soon, Elena warily moved her hand down from his back, where it had been resting, all the way to the edge of his pants. He pulled her face up to his for yet another kiss and as he did so unbuttoned both of their respective pairs of pants and removed them.

He was terrified that at any moment she would realise what she was doing and push him away, because he knew just as well as any that he didn't deserve her. But with only their underwear between them, she wrapped her legs around his back and rubbed herself against him.

Elena didn't know when or how it had happened, but suddenly Damon was holding himself above her completely naked body, naked himself. He was looking at her carefully, as if waiting for an invitation. She looked into his big green eyes she saw only sincerity and love. She nodded. He pushed into her, cautiously, he was aware that she wasn't a virgin, but he didn't want to hurt her. When she relaxed around him he began to pull out again, before pushing in yet again. He found a rhythm and soon she was again writhing and moaning, but this time beneath him. He harmonised her moans and gasps with guttural grunts of exertion and pleasure. At last, when they both came in unison, they screamed out the others name.

Damon pulled out of her and cuddled her into his chest, one last ditch attempt at comfort before the storm he knew was coming.

"I need to tell you something and even if you don't want to listen, you just need to hear it." Damon's face was suddenly dejected; he had known this was coming but did it have to be so soon, couldn't she wait until the next morning before she cut him loose. He was still basking in her sunlight and he wasn't ready to hear that she didn't want him, didn't need him, didn't love him. She continued, "I know you love me and I know that you are a good man deep down. I also know that you don't think you deserve me," he flinched in anticipation, "but you're wrong," he breathed a sigh of relief but because anxious again at her next words, "I don't deserve you or Stefan. I love Stefan so much, but I also love you and I'm just like Katherine and I'm just using both of you because I'm a selfish, conniving bitch." She had the second part of her speech in one breath and as she paused to take another Damon kissed her deeply.

"You," he whispered softly into her ear after he had released her mouth, "are nothing like Katherine. The fact that you feel bad about things you have done to other people proves that." He cradled her in his arms tighter than before and kissed her again. As she drifted to sleep, both physically and emotionally spent, he whispered to her, "You are perfect. My perfect angel." She smiled into his chest.


	10. Chapter 10: Memories

**Little Did He Know**

**Chapter 10 – Memories**

Elena lay still, her eyes shut tight, curled up next to Stefan with his arms wrapped around delicately. She had had the most horrible dream. Stefan had been trapped in the tomb with Katherine and in a brief spell of madness she had slept with Damon. She snuggled further into Stefan's arms and relaxed. I had only been a dream, just a very bad dream.

She slowly rolled away from his grip, careful not to wake and opened her eyes to see the sunlight streaming through the gap in the curtains. She smiled in absolute happiness. As she turned her head back to the sleeping man, the smile froze in place. She stared at Damon lying naked beneath the covers with her, his arms stretched out towards her. Her horrible nightmare had all been real. She felt bile coming back up her throat and had to turn her head quickly away. Yet when she looked back at him she couldn't help but notice that Damon had never looked so peaceful, so beautiful.

She very quietly got off the bed and made her way to the bathroom, sitting down on the toilet lid, her head in her hands. Why had she done it? She thought of Stefan in the tomb; cold, damp and horrifying, with no blood to feed on. How could she have betrayed him like that?

"_I love you, Elena, and it's because I love you that I can't be selfish with you, why you can't know this."_

She shook that thought from her mind. Damon was evil, sadistic, a monster. He cared only for himself and never gave a moment's thought for those people who got in his way.

"_I don't deserve you, but my brother does."_

No. She didn't deserve Stefan. He was so good and kind and wonderful. He had never done nothing to hurt her. His sole concern was her wellbeing and she had betrayed him. She had taken his heart and thrown it into the garbage without looking back. What she had done was unforgivable. Why had she done it?

"_What I'm about to say is probable the most selfish thing I've ever said in my life."_

But she was the selfish one. She had used both Stefan and Damon, played with their feelings, and now she was going to break one of their hearts. She was just like Katherine.

There was a low groan from her bed and she looked up to see that Damon had rolled over. He would be awake soon and she couldn't let him see this. For once this was something that she wasn't going to blame him for.

xxx

"Forgive the intrusion. I mean your family no harm," said Elijah as he paced the Elena's bedroom.

"Why did you kill those vampires when they tried to take me?"

"Because I didn't want you to be taken... Klaus is the most feared and hated of the Originals but those that fear him are desperate for his approval. If word gets out that the doppelganger exists, there'll be a line of vampires eager to take you to him, and I can't have that."

"Isn't that exactly what you're trying to do."

"Let's just say that my goal is not to break the curse."

"So what is your goal?"

"Klaus' obsessions have made him paranoid, he has become a recluse. He trusts only those in his immediate circle."

"Like you?"

"Not anymore."

Elena paused before answering thoughtfully, "You don't know where he is, do you?" When Elijah didn't answer, Elena nodded to herself. "So you're trying to use me to draw him out."

"Well to do that I need you to stay put and stop trying to get yourself killed."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"Well, if I wasn't being truthful, you're family would be dead and I'd be taking you to Klaus right now. Instead, I'm here and I'm prepared to offer you a deal."

"What kind of a deal?"

"Do nothing. Do nothing, live your life, stop fighting and when the time is right, you and I shall draw Klaus out together and I shall make sure that your friends remain unharmed."

"And then what?"

"Then I kill him," Elijah said, matter-of-factly.

"Just like that?"

"Just like that. I'm a man of my word Elena. I make a deal, I keep a deal."

"How are you going to be able to keep everybody safe?"

"You know, I notice you have a friend, Bonnie, is it? She seems to possess the gift of magic. I have friends with similar gifts."

"You know witches."

"Together we can protect everyone that matters to you. So do we have a deal?"

"I need you to do two more things for me."

"You're negotiating."

Elena nodded shortly. "You know that Stefan is in the tomb, I suppose?"

"I do."

"I want him out."

"And your other request?"

"I did some things with Damon that I'm not too proud of..."

xxx

Her fingers shook as she dialled Damon's number. She heard Damon answer, "Elena. What's wrong?"

"I need to talk to you. It's an emergency," she whispered into the receiver.

"I'll be right there." Damon hurried out of the house. He had been bored waiting for Jules to make good her threat anyway.

When he arrived at her house, however he found Elena sitting on her bed. She stared at him as he climbed in through the window.

"I love you," she said softly, "I so sorry."

Damon looked puzzled for a moment and then Elijah came around the corner. Before Damon could even try to escape Elijah looked deep into his eyes and commanded, "You will forget this meeting ever happened and you will forget every moment you spent with Elena since she found out that Stefan was in the tomb." Damon nodded, obediently. "Now you will go straight home and go back to what you were doing." Damon nodded yet again and flitted out of the room.

Elijah looked up at Elena, whose eyes shone with tears, and nodded to say that he had completed his first part of the bargain, before following Damon out the door.

Elena sat alone in her room and let the tears leak down her face, her breath coming out in strained sobs. She could blame no one for what had happened between her and Damon, no one but herself. She cried for the pain of losing Damon once more, for the pain she knew Damon felt every day, for the fear of what was to come and most importantly she cried for the pain that she had inflicted on Stefan, although he didn't know it.

After a while, she dried and plastered a huge fake smile on her face, before waiting for Stefan to be released from his prison. If she was going to become Katherine she may as well look the part.


End file.
